Top 5 for Both Riders in Exciting Italian GP (Industry Press Releases)

• Andrea Iannone in podium fight until final laps.• Alex Rins running great race pace despite Saturday struggles.• Team Suzuki ECSTAR complete exhilarating race with both riders in the Top 5.

Sunday morning in Mugello is always surrounded by a buzz of excitement, and today was no different. As the riders headed out for the 15-minute warm-up session, Andrea Iannone proved again just how comfortable and quick he could be on his home track. Alex Rins, after suffering a shoulder injury on Saturday, used the session to get back into his rhythm.

Both riders opted to line up on the grid with the medium-soft tyre combination. And with temperatures of 29c and a crowd of over 90,000 people, the atmosphere was extremely hot. As the lights went out the Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders made good starts and slotted into 4th and 6th on the first lap. The opening moments of the race saw high attrition and the riders tried to focus on settling into a strong rhythm. Both Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins had good pace and were able to stay with the competitive leading group. After a crash from Marquez, Iannone held 3rd place for many laps before becoming embroiled in an intense fight with Rossi and Petrucci. With 11 laps to go Iannone began to struggle a little with tyre wear and he took a few “breather” laps. Meanwhile, Alex Rins moved into 4th place. The Team SUZUKI ECSTAR pair then kept themselves in the Top 5 fight until the closing laps, where a determined Iannone gave his all to try for a podium finish at his home race. As the chequered flag came out, Iannone crossed the line 4th with Rins a close 5th.

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager“It was a good race and a good fight for the podium. With Andrea we maybe expected a bit more because he was very fast all weekend in all the sessions, so it was a pity we couldn’t get the podium. But Alex struggled a lot with pain in his shoulder this morning so we are surprised with his good performance. I’m very happy about today and the results for both riders was good. We hope to challenge for the podium in Catalunya.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager “We are happy about today’s race, we were in the main fight throughout the race and then fighting for the podium at the end. Staying close to the top is what we have to do, fighting with the others and taking opportunities when they come. So we want to thank and congratulate Andrea and Alex for their performances today. Andrea probably wanted more as we are in Mugello, and he tried very, very hard. Alex had pain after yesterday’s crash, but I like how he responded to this set-back; he kept his head down and kept pushing anyway. So I’m really happy for both riders. This type of race allows both us and the riders to learn more and improve, and we go to Barcelona next which is Alex’s home race and a good track.”

Andrea Iannone“I tried my best, but for sure I had hoped to finish this race on the podium. In any case, we struggled with the rear tyre because the track was really hot so we lost out on acceleration, especially on the straight. So it’s very difficult to make up the lost time in the corners. But anyway, I’m really happy about the race, I pushed a lot from the beginning, but half way through I reduced my pace to allow the tyres to recover a bit. I knew the last part of the race would be really important and I tried my best at the end, 4th is a good result and we hope to improve in some areas so we can be consistently at the top.”

Alex Rins“I’m really happy because I didn’t expect this result, yesterday I had a very bad crash and I hit my shoulder and lost strength. During the race I also struggled with it but I tried to keep my focus and think about the race and not about my shoulder, and I’m really happy with this 5th position. I took a lot of experience from this race, I managed it well with the high temperatures and the lack of grip on the front. I think we gave our best, we worked really well together with the team. Tomorrow I’ll have some more checks at the hospital and then try to recover for the Montmelo Grand Prix.”